Former India pacer Aavishkar Salvi back as Puducherry head coach

Former India seamer Aavishkar Salvi has been appointed head coach of the Puducherry senior group for the upcoming home season.

The growth was confirmed by a Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP) official who additionally knowledgeable that former Mumbai first-class cricketer Onkar Khanvilkar can be assistant coach and former Rajasthan keeper Dishant Yagnik will don the function of a fielding coach.

The 38-year previous Salvi replaces former Karnataka batsman J Arun Kumar as the Pondicherry head coach. All the appointments are for one season.

The CAP official mentioned that they had opted for Salvi as he had carried out a superb job throughout Pondicherry’s first season.

“Salvi had done a good job when he coached Pondicherry during first season. So, we have gone back to him. He is a nice guy and knows the players well,” he instructed PTI.

Confirming the event, Salvi, a former Mumbai participant, instructed PTI, “This is my second stint with Puducherry as I was their head coach for the first season. This time, they have reappointed me.”

“It is exciting. We don’t know when the cricket season will start because of COVID-19, how cricket will be played, but still if an association is preparing themselves, it is a good thing to be part of it,” added Salvi, who performed 4 ODIs for India.

He mentioned Pondicherry is an thrilling group and the affiliation had developed the infrastructure, which is a promising signal for the cricketers.

“It (Pondicherry) is an exciting team. They (the association) have developed the infrastructure, if you see the newly affiliated teams, among them Pondicherry is the only one where they have developed so many grounds with wonderful training facilities,” Salvi added.